Rural Workforce Network Brings Economic Development Opportunities to Rural Utah

In 2018, Salt Lake Chamber president and CEO, Derek Miller, issued a challenge to the Chamber membership, especially company CEOs: look at your workforce and see if there are opportunities for employees to work remotely in rural Utah.

“We don’t need to go far to do our work on this and to make a difference,” Miller said at the time.

At the time of his address, initiatives were already underway on the government side to develop remote workforce opportunities — an effort initiated by then-Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox., the Department of Workforce Services Director Jon Pierpont, and his staff. They were among the first to identify several hundred jobs that could be done just about anywhere in Utah.

Recognizing a critical inflection point, the Salt Lake Chamber and the Department of Workforce Services joined forces to move the rural workforce initiative forward. It didn’t take long to realize that they needed the help of another rural development partner, EDCUtah. In 2019, at the Rural Summit in Cedar City, the three entities signed a memorandum of understanding formalizing the Rural Workforce Network.

As the group continued to do its work, it added more partners. Today, the Rural Workforce Network team includes: The Salt Lake Chamber, Department of Workforce Services, EDCUtah, GOED’s Office of Rural Development, and USU Rural Online Initiative. This unique team brings together all the state resources and brain-trust to help employers and job seekers connect anywhere in the state.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020 — intensifying the need for viable remote work options across Utah — the team was well established and moved towards implementing a rural jobs website (see: slchamber.com/ rural-workforce-network).

During much of 2020, the Rural Workforce Network team worked remotely themselves — recruiting and training private companies throughout Utah to encourage them to post their remote job opportunities on jobs.utah.gov using the hashtag #ruraljobs.

To date, the team’s work includes: • 4 virtual webinars

• 25+ companies trained • 19 employers posting remote jobs on the #ruraljobs website • 151 remote jobs available for rural job seekers

COVID-19 raised the awareness, opportunity, and value-add of remote work. Thanks to significant investments made years ago in broadband and distance education delivery, Utah is well-positioned to expand the remote workforce, and efforts to expand the rural remote workforce are just beginning.

If you are working to create, find or advertise jobs that can be done anywhere in Utah, the Rural Workforce Network Team is here to help. Please reach out to David Busk for more information at dbusk@utah.gov.

Help us grow #ruraljobs and bring economic mobility and prosperity to rural Utah.